Meanwhile.
On the other side of Planet Namek.
After some time, Bulma finally managed to contact Earth with her communicator. Using a signal relay from her father, Briefs, she got in touch with Son Goku, who was on his way to Planet Namek.
After they talked things over, Son Goku showed no fear at all. On the contrary, the thought of facing even stronger opponents on Planet Namek had him raring to go.
This left North Kai with a headache, but there was nothing he could do. In the end, he could only tell Son Goku to be careful and to leave at once if he found that the enemy on Planet Namek was too strong for him.
After the call ended, Son Goku was even more fired up.
"This is so exciting! Not only is Vegeta stronger than he was on Earth, but there's also the Universe Emperor Frieza and his men! I have to train even harder and try to get used to a hundred times Earth's gravity before I reach Planet Namek! No, getting used to a hundred times Earth's gravity is only the beginning!"
His training officially began.
Son Goku had no idea that by the time he reached Planet Namek, the situation would be completely different from what he imagined.
And his journey was destined to unfold differently from the original story.
On Planet Namek.
After they ended the call, Bulma, Krillin, and Son Gohan were finally less frightened than they had been before.
Goku was on his way, and he was undergoing even more specialized training. They believed his strength would increase greatly by the time he reached Planet Namek.
Whether he could stand up to Frieza and his men was another matter, but defeating Vegeta should be no problem.
Krillin and Son Gohan had no idea that Vegeta was now far stronger than he had been just a few hours ago.
"So, what should we do now? Should we take the initiative and find a Dragon Ball to hide?" Son Gohan asked.
"That's a good idea. Goku will take six days to get here. If we have a Dragon Ball, we can stop Frieza from gathering them all, summoning Shenron, and making a wish." Bulma thought it was a good plan.
However, she wasn't going to look for one herself. After all, she was just an ordinary woman.
"What I'm worried about is whether Frieza and his men have a Dragon Radar like we do. According to the Dragon Radar, they've already found four Dragon Balls." Krillin was more cautious.
Put simply, he was afraid. If the enemy had a way to find the Dragon Balls too, then looking for one and hiding it would be like walking right into a trap.
"They probably don't. Otherwise, Vegeta wouldn't have asked us for the Dragon Radar," Son Gohan said.
As the two of them spoke, a large number of terrifying presences abruptly entered their range of perception, and their faces changed.
"Gohan, suppress your ki! It's those guys—they're coming!" Krillin shouted.
Luckily, they had already put away their spaceship and found a cave to shelter in. Otherwise, they would have been easy to spot with the naked eye.
"Th-that's a terrifying ki. It's the evil presence we sensed earlier." Son Gohan's whole body began to tremble.
He was still young. Even after training with Piccolo and experiencing Vegeta's invasion of Earth, he was still just a child.
After suppressing their ki with all their strength, the two hurried to the cave entrance and peered outside from the shadows.
After a long while, a group of people streaked across the sky and flew off in another direction. Only then did the two of them manage to breathe a little easier.
There was no doubt about it: that group was Frieza and his men.
Sensing Frieza's terrifying ki at such close range plunged them into extreme fear, leaving them unable to break free of it.
Now they understood why King Kai had told them to leave Planet Namek, and why even someone like Vegeta had advised them to go.
This was a terrifying enemy they simply couldn't face.
Compared to that evil aura, Vegeta's was insignificant. If they hadn't sensed it themselves, they wouldn't have believed that anything in the world could possess such an absurdly powerful presence.
"They're far away now. Thank goodness they weren't coming for us. That scared me half to death." Bulma stood beside Krillin and Son Gohan.
As an ordinary person, she couldn't understand how frightened Krillin and Son Gohan were.
"W-we should still leave. This is no enemy... we can fight."
It took Krillin a long time to recover before he spoke in a trembling voice.
Son Gohan stood beside him, swallowing nervously, his mouth twisted out of shape.
"But Dad is already on his way. If we leave now..." Son Gohan was afraid, but he managed to collect himself and speak.
Both boys' voices were shaking. Bulma blinked, then took out the Dragon Radar and pressed a button.
It showed Frieza and his men moving quickly with four Dragon Balls.
"They're moving so fast! In the blink of an eye, they're already over a hundred kilometers away!" Bulma cried, covering her mouth.
After watching for a while longer, she saw the four Dragon Balls on the radar stop and converge with another one.
"Look! They've found a fifth Dragon Ball!" Bulma exclaimed.
"How did they find it so quickly? Could they really have a Scouter similar to the Dragon Radar?" Son Gohan wondered.
"No! I think I've figured out how they found the Dragon Balls. They're probably at the Namekians' settlement—the place where I sensed them earlier! They must have used their Scouters to locate the Namekians, so they didn't have to search blindly." Krillin explained seriously.
He sensed the ki in another direction and was able to confirm that there were no longer any presences along the path from which Frieza and his men had come.
He remembered that there had been many presences in that direction, about several thousand kilometers away.
Those missing presences must have belonged to the Namekians.
At that moment, Krillin didn't know where his courage came from, but he felt an urge to go and investigate.
At least, as long as they hid their ki, the Scouters wouldn't be able to detect them.
Things on this side unfolded much like they had in the original story.
On the other side, after Vegeta found an island with a pleasant environment, he landed and began meditating.
His strength had increased fiftyfold after his potential was unlocked. Although he could control this power perfectly, he still needed to meditate to stabilize it completely.
He also needed to cultivate his ki. His increased strength had given him new insights, and he would have to spend time making a breakthrough.
If he wanted to reach the Super Saiyan level, he now had only one option: stabilize his strength enough, then give it a try.